Compensator



J. ROBINSON COMPENSATQR May 31, 1949.

Filed Dec. 21, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR n mam, S w

y 1949- J. ROBINSON 2,471,586

COMPENSATOR Filed D60. 21, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jonas Robinson,

ATTORNEYS May 31, 1949. Q ROBINSON 2,471,586

COMPENSA'IOR Filed Dec. 21, 1946 5 Shets-Shet s L I. I 96 I I W I II M g im m 1;; jao' INVENTOR Jonas {2066115012,

ATTORNEYS w an" I means and refers more Patented May 31, 1949 OFFEI o pattern controlling ticiilarly to means connecting a jacquard-with hddles, jacks, pickers or other thread-controllingelements of a" loom or textile machine.

This application is a ccritmuanomm art of my co-pending patent application SeriaPNo;569,558, filed December 23, I944fnow PatentNo.-" 2,4l3,728, January 7, 1947, which-was=a continuation in part of patent application Serial-No: {481527;fi1edflune 26, 1942, now Patent No. 25386574.

As is 'well knownjacquards' are-utilized for the selective operation-of heddles' carrying the warpthreads in the'case of a loom'or the corresponding jacks or pickers in case ofa' cui't'ain machine or Nottingham lace machine,todetermine the pattern of fabric produced on th e'loo'm or machine. For that purpose,-the*heddles"or jacks are all individually connected by a *series 01 strings or cords with'the liftersjhooks or needles of the jacquard. The number-'ofstrlrigs is'equal to that of the heddles or -jacks-and 'is'quite great. The jacquard is mounted, of necessity,- high above the loom or machine irameftheflength of the strings or cords extendingbetwe'enthe'jacquard and the heddlesor jacks being often'from 16' to 25 feet.

It was found'that these-ve'ry longi strings" and cords are aiTected'to a great e'xtnt by variable atmospheric conditions. A stringinaytextend to such an extent'that theoperation oithe jacquard will not result in the-withdrawal of ajackcor heddle, or a string may'contact somuchthat the jack or heddle will remainWithdfaWn despite the operations of the jacquard; Constantattention and frequent adj ustments-are' n'eces's'a'ry toen'sure good work being produced. n n i It is among the important objects of the present invention to providea-device-automatically compensating for the extension or contraction of the aforesaid strings and acids.

Another object is to provide a "compensating device which will ensure proper "operation of "the heddles and jacks by ajacquard irrespective of the contraction or extension-cr meconnecting strings and cords.

A further object is td 'eliminate' 'the necessity for constant attention and frequent-adjustments of the jacquard-connecting means -"thi c iugh the provision of I automaticallyoperable compensating means interposed between tl-i'e' iacduard and the elements operated thereby. I

Other objects of the present intenticn Wil1 be This I invention rela'te come apparent in the ccurse of' the following specification.

In accomplishing thefobiects of the pre'sent finvention it was *foufid= desirable" tofifistt intd the (claim-'14 length of each c'onnecting string and iairlyblcs'e to the loomor machine an element which is capab'le' of carrying out amo'vemerit which is difi'e'rent from the movement-cf theistring actuated by the 5 j-acquardjthe string movement and saiddiite'rent' movement'o'f the element being so combined arid/or correlated that as soon as action is transmitted by 'the jacquard, the i element will be" able 'to malnipulate i-ts jackor heddle in the required manner irrespective of any extensions or con- "tractions of thestring.

According to 's'ome'of the preferred embodi- -ments of the inventiveidea, the element, which 'ma' have the'formof a plate, may carryout a pulling: movement,- as well as a swinging: movement. The swingingmove'ment maybe produced by an external force and maybe transmitted to the =jack or'he'ddle; in that case thepull'ing movement is the one received by the element from the =string. On the other hand, the swingingmovement may becaused by aguide forming apart of the-plate andmay constitute a component of the st'ring movement, while another component is transrnitted by the plate to the'jack or hecl'dle; 5 this construction is suitable for compensating sole'ly for the'exten'sions or expansions of 'a string and"maybe used'for varying the lift 'ofa jack If or heddle an'd/ or operating a jack or heddlefrom a plurality'of jacquards.

4 The'invention will appear more cle'arlyirom "the iollow-ing detailed description when taken-: in -CUIllflectiOn with the accompanying drawings showing, by Way of eXampIe onIy, someof tlie prefe'rred embodiments of the inventive idea.

Iri the drawings Figure 1 is-a diagrammatical side' view-illus- -trating" the -useof pattern-controllingmeans Which-are constructed in accordance with'the iiii'eser'it invention, in a Nottingham lace curtain machine.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic top view of-a'part of the Nottingham lace machine, illustrating-the operating of the jacks.

Figure 3is a'diagram illustrating a fabric-made on the Nottingham lace curtain machine.

-llig'ure 4 isa section showing on a larger scale the compensating means illustrated in Figure l.

Figure -5 is similar to Figure 4' and shows the compensating means in I a different position.

Figure-6 is-a --top View of=the compensa-ting m'eans.

Figure '7' showsa difierently constructed 'com -pensating device which is actuated by twdiac- "quards.

"'Figure 8 shows 'the' compensating device ci -Fig- *ure' I when 'it"is differently-adjusted.

I lengths.

Figure 9 is a top view of the compensating device shown in Figure 8.

Figure 1 of the drawings illustrates diagrammatically a Nottingham lace curtain machine I5, a. jacquard I6 and a compensating or equalizing device 1.

While Nottingham lace curtain machines are shown in the drawings in conjunction with the compensating devices, such devices may be conveniently used with any other type of textile machine, such as a loom or a curtain machine of any type.

The Nottingham lace curtain machine I is of standard construction and is shown merely in. the form of a diagram in Figure 1. V

The machine comprises carriages carrying disclike bobbins I9. Bobbins I9 carry tying threads (Fig. 3) and are thrown between warp threads 2I and spool or patterning threads 22. Warp threads 2! extend through uniformly spaced openings of a warp bar or guide bar 23, while spool threads 22 extend through similar openings of a spool bar or guide bar 24. Jacks 25 are carried by a jack bar 26 and are adapted to project between a pair of warp and spool threads (Fig. 2). Each jack 25 is provided with a curved portion 21 to which an end of a string 28 is attached.

In prior art, strings 28 extended over sley bars 29 (Fig. 1) directly to a jacquard I8.

In operation, bobbins I9 reciprocate in the direction of the arrow 30 (Fig. 1) by being thrown between the separated threads, while the bars 23 and 24 reciprocate in the direction of their The jack bar 25 carries out a reciprocatory turning movement and moves the jacks 25 to the Withdrawn position shown by broken lines in Figure 1. At that time some of the needles of the jacquard I8 are operated.

As already stated, in prior art the strings 28 were directly actuated by the jacquard needles, which pulled them taut. Therefore, when the jack bar 26 moved back to the normal position indicated by full lines in the drawings, some of the resilient jacks 25 were maintained in the withdrawn broken-line position by their taut strings 28, and remained out of engagement with the threads H and 22 during the movement of the bars 23 and 24, until the jacquard needles released the strings and the resilient jacks sprang back to their normal position.

The pattern of a fabric BI (Fig. 5) depends upon the positions of the jacks 25 in relation to the threads 2I and 22, said positions being determined by the needles of the jacquard I8 and tthe strings 28 operated thereby. As indicated in Figure 4, strings 28 may maintain the jacks 25 in a full lift position. or a half-lift position in which the tip of a jack is located between the two bars.

The described operation of a Nottingham lace curtain machine is well known and does not constitute a part of the present invention which is.

concerned with means transmitting the movement of the needles of a jacquard I6 through the strings 28 for the purpose of maintaining some of the jacks 25 in the withdrawn positions.

As already stated, the strings between the jacquard and the jack may be as long as 20 or 25 feet, while the full path of movement of the upper end of a jack for a full lift is about one inch. It is apparent that variations in atmospheric humidity will cause the strings to contract or expand. If-the strings contract too much, they may prevent the jacks from assuming their normal forward position, so that the jacks will remain in the half lift or full lift positions despite the release of the strings by the needles of the jacquard. On the other hand, if the strings expand too much, a jack may be returned to a half lift or forward position despite the movement of the corresponding needle of the jacquard to the full lift position.

In accordance with the present invention, the expansion and contraction of the strings may be compensated by a compensator or equalizer Ill (Figures 1, 4 and 5).

Figures 1, 4, 5 and 6 show a compensation device III connected to strings 28 and I28 which extend between a Nottingham lace machine I5 and a jacquard I8. The compensating device III includes a plurality of plates I0, each plate being connected to separate strings 28 and I28 at H and I2, respectively (Fig. 9). Each plate has the form of a semicircle with an upper straight edge 13 and a lower curved edge I4. A front slot 15 formed in the plate extends at a fairly acute angle to the edge I3. A rear slot I5 consists of a rear part 11 extending at about the same angle as the slot I5 and of a front part 18 forming a much greater angle with the edge I3 and having slightly curved edges.

Plates I0 hang upon two rods 19 and 88. The rod I8 is mounted in a support 8| and extends through the slots I5. The rod is mounted in a support 82 and extends through the slots 16.

When the jacquard I6 does not exert a Pulling action upon a string I28, its plate 1!] is situated in its non-lifting position shown in Figure 4. When a jacquard needle begins to pull the string I 28 upwardly, the plate 10 will move along with it. The initial direction of movement of'the plate It is determined by the direction of the slot I5 and of the rear part I! of the slot 16. When the rod 88 is located in the front part 18 of the slot Hi, the rod 19 will be located approximately in the middle of the wide slot '15, so that further pulling movement of the string I 28 will cause the plate I8 to swing upwardly with the jack as its pivot, until the end of the pulling movement is reached or until the rod 80 strikes the lower end of the front part I8 of the slot 16.

Thus the plate I0 separates the pulling movement of the jacquard needle into two movements, only one of which is transmitted to the string 28. The extent of the pulling movement to which the string 28 is subjected, is shown in Figure 5 by the distance between the ear II in its nonlifting position shown by broken lines, and its full lift position shown in full lines.

This device is preferably installed in conditions of maximum humidity in the plant, since it is particularly suitable as a compensator for the expansion or extension of the strings I28. When a string I28 expands, it will hang slack between the jacquard IB and the plate 10, so that a part of the pulling movement of the jacquard needle will be absorbed in pulling the string I28 taut. Only the remaining part of this pulling movement will be transmitted to the plate 10. However, so long as this remaining part is sufficient to shift the rod 88 into the forward part 18 of the slot Hi the string 28 will be actuated to the required extent.

Thus in this construction a diminution of the pulling movement upon the plate I0 resulting from an extension of its string I28, results in the diminution of the turning motion of the plate III, while the operative movement of the plate I0 which is transmitted to the string 28, need not be afiected by the extension of the string I28.

A single jack may be connected with two separate jacquards by a construction shown in Figures '7 to 9. Each jack string 28 is connected at 90 to a plate I18 which is connected at 9i to a string 228 leading to one jacquard, and which is connected at 92 to a string 328 leading to another jacquard.

The plates I10 are supported by two rods I19 and I80 extending through slots 93 and 94, respectively. Both slots 93 and 94 are substantially angular in form with a very wide apex portion, so as to enable proper movement of the plate I10. The rod I19 is carried by a support I8I, while the rod I88 is adjustably held by a nut 91 in a horizontal slot 98 provided in a support I82.

The plate I19 is operated in substantially the same manner as the plate 10, a full lift position of the plate I10 being shown by broken lines in Figure '1, while the non-lifting position is shown in full lines. The distance between lines 95 and 96 in Figure 7 shows the length of the pulling movement upon the string 28 This device may be conveniently set to provide for a full lift or a half lift of the jacks. In the non-lifting position shown in full lines in Figure 7, the rod I80 is situated in the extreme rear end of the slot 98, provided in the support I82. Then both jacquards may operate at full lift. In

order to provide for a half lift, the rod I80 is i moved to a position substantially in the middle of the slot 98 of the support I82. Then the rod I80 will also extend approximately through the middle of the upper part of the slot 94. As stated in connection with plate 10, the relative movement between the upper part of the slot 94 of the plate I10 and the rod I 80 is that portion of the pulling movement of the string 328 which is transmitted to the string 28. When the rod I80 is close to the end of the upper part of the slot 94 in the non-lifting position of the plate I10, as shown in full lines in Figure 7, then the relative movement between the upper part of the slot 94 and the rod I80 will cover the entire length of this upper part, resulting in a full lift pulling movement upon the string 28, as indicated by the distance between the lines 95 and 96 in Figure 11.

On the other hand when the rod I80 is in the middle of the upper part of the slot 94 in the non-lifting position of the plate I10, as shown in Figure 12, then the relative movement between the upper part of the slot 94 and the rod I80 will extend over only one half of this upper part and the balance of the pulling movement of the jacquard needle will be transformed into a tuming movement of the plate I10. Thus the pulling movement transmitted by the plate I10 to the string 28 will be reduced to about one half, as designated by the distance between lines I95 and I96 in Figure 12.

It is apparent that according to this construction the adjustment from full lift to half lift and vice versa is carried out solely by the compensating device, so that a needle of a jacquard may continue to transmit a full lift pulling movement to its string while only a half lift pulling movement is transmitted to the string which is attached to the jack.

It is apparent that the specific illustrations shown above have been given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that the described methods and devices are subject to wide variation and modification, without departing from the scope or intent of the present invention; all of such variations and modifications are 6 to be included within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for compensating for the extension and contraction of an elongated connecting element extending between an actuating element and an actuated element, said device comprising a swinging element receiving a pulling force transmitted by said elongated connecting element and means supporting said swinging element to cause said swinging element to swing about said actuated element and to transmit a smaller pulling force to said actuated element.

2. A device for compensating for the extension and contraction of an elongated connecting element extending between an actuating element and an actuated element, said device comprising a plate receiving a pulling force transmitted by said elongated connecting element, and means swingably supporting said plate to cause it to swing about said actuated element and to transmit a smaller pulling force to said actuated element.

3. In combination with a textile machine of the type having a plurality of thread-actuating'elements and a jacquard having pulling elements for operating said thread-actuating elements, and elongated connecting elements having ends attached to said pulling elements; a device for compensating for the expansion and contraction of said connecting elements, said device comprising other connecting elements connected to said thread-actuating elements, plates connected to the first-mentioned connecting elements and the second-mentioned connecting elements and means supporting said plates so as to separat a pulling movement transmitted by a pulling element and a first-mentioned connecting element into a swinging motion of said plates about said thread-actuating elements and a smaller pulling movement transmitted by said plates to the second-mentioned connecting elements and said thread-actuating elements.

4. In combination with a textile machine of the type having a plurality of thread-actuating elements and a jacquard having pulling elements for operating said thread-actuating elements, and elongated connecting elements having nds attached to said pulling elements; a device for compensating for the expansion and contraction of said connecting elements, said device comprising other connecting elements connected to said thread-actuating elements, plates connected to the first-mentioned connecting elements and the second-mentioned connecting elements and having slots formed therein, and rods extending through said slots and supporting said plates, said slots being sufiiciently wide to separate a pulling movement transmitted by a pulling element and a first-mentioned connecting element into a swinging motion of said plates about said thread-actuating elements and a smaller pulling movement transmitted by said plates to the second-mentioned connecting elements and said thread-actuating elements.

JONAS ROBINSON.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Robinson Oct. 9, 1945 Number 

